…chasing joy when life is hard.

Month: July 2016

I’ve been a silent blogger for these past few weeks, and there’s a definite reason for that. I’ve been grieving the loss of something I really wanted…the loss of a dream. I initially didn’t think I would share. It’s so fresh and vulnerable. So tender and on the surface.

But, you know what? It’s in those moments where we are vulnerable and we share our stories of pain, loss, and suffering that God begins to do something amazing and unexpected.

The hurt I’m feeling is a familiar hurt…one that I’ve felt in another time that feels like another life.

It’s a hurt that questions whether God really does care about me.

A hurt that cries out “IT’S NOT FAIR!”.

A hurt that sheds a million tears and still there’s more.

A hurt that’s chock full of lies that parade as truth.

When pain comes, I want to run and hide. I want to avoid it and find something…anything that will relieve the pain, if even for just a moment. I also want to close off my heart to any more dreams.

But I am ever so grateful for a Heavenly Father who won’t leave me to my own destructive devices.

He speaks even when I’m caught up in a net of lies of my own making. But he doesn’t shake His head in disappointment. No. He wants to turn my heartbreak valley into acres of hope (Hosea 2 MSG).

In the hopes that this will speak to someone else grieving or hurting, I’d like to chronicle this journey. What I’m feeling, what God says about our pain, how we can become captives SET FREE…more than conquerers, OVERCOMERS.

Let’s start with this verse…a salve for our wounded hearts this day:

I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you. 2 Kings 20:5 NI